The Mouse and The Wolf - Chapter 66: Chapter 66

-Oliver-
When the world around me turned from the snowy landscape into something of a luscious jungle, I had to blink a few times to understand what I was seeing. And then I had to blink a few times more.
"Uhmm...?" I muttered, looking around with wide eyes. It was a jungle! We were in a jungle!
I could feel Jaden's side against my leg and when I looked down, the fur on his back was standing up.
"This is her home," Selene said with a respectful tone, speaking quietly. "Come – I'll take you to her."
"To who?" I managed to cough up as we started to follow her through the thick vegetation.
"Like I'd spoil the surprise," Selene chuckled.
"All right then," I muttered, looking at Jaden again. He was not having happy or content feelings.
"Oliver... I..." Kevin... my dad spoke, looking troubled. "I really am sorry for dying."
"Well, that's technically not your fault," I said, trying to get my head straight. This was my father. My dead father. What was I supposed to think? Besides, suddenly having him walking right next to me was awkward as hell.
"Only technically?" he chuckled, but there was sorrow in his eyes.
"Your brother killed you, right?" I spoke quietly.
"Yes, but let's not call him my brother," he said grimly. "They were not my family."
"But he killed you?" I continued.
"Yes," my father nodded. "I can't stop thinking that if I'd been more careful, I would still be alive."
"There's no reason to burden yourself with what-ifs," Selene spoke with a sympathetic voice. "You know what might happen if you walk down that path."
Dad nodded and let out a deep sigh, but I was curious.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"We have nothing but time in this place," Selene began. "I amuse myself by meddling with mate bonds – it helps me keep my head together in the everlasting afterlife – but not everyone has abilities to keep them occupied. A simple thought like, what if I had done this instead, starts eating you up."
"And before you know it, it's the only thing you can think of, and you have to get out of the Spirit Realm," Dad continued quietly.
"That is how wraiths are born. Shadows, as your kind named them," Selene ended.
I nodded slowly. Then, I hesitated because there was something else I wanted to ask, but wasn't sure if I had the guts for it. But then I figured it would haunt me for the rest of my life I didn't ask...
"So... You didn't know about me?" I spoke slowly, looking at my father.
He shook his head, looking so apologetic and sad it hurt even me. "I was asleep," he whispered. "I woke up when I heard Ray speaking to me next to my grave."
"Asleep?" I repeated.
"I don't have abilities to keep myself occupied with," he sighed. "A few years after I died, I went to sleep – that's what we spirits do. No one visited my grave, so I wasn't disturbed, and I was bored, so...."
I felt absolutely awful when I heard that. I thought about all the graves the catacombs had... Were the spirits all alone now that their relatives couldn't visit them? "Can't you spirits hear us if we're not next to your graves?"
"Not if we're asleep," Dad explained. "While we're awake, we need to be close by to hear you, but we can hear you."
"To be fair, none of us knew about you," Selene spoke. "I don't think even I would've spotted you if you weren't such a good match with Jaden. I wouldn't even be here if your bond hadn't brought my attention here."
"You wouldn't even be here...?" I repeated, feeling Jaden's anger suddenly rising inside him. "The werewolves trust you to watch over them. You are their goddess," I added when I realized why Jaden was getting upset.
"I am the Goddess of the Moon. I am the spirit of the Moon. But I didn't create them," Selene spoke and stopped to look at me, then at Jaden. "Your kind chose me as your goddess. I understand why you would pick me out of the hundreds of old spirits, but I'm not your creator, therefore I do not see myself as your goddess."
We were all silent for a moment while she stared at Jaden. His spirit was in turmoil, and I understood perfectly why. Then, she suddenly sat down on the ground and moved her hand in front of her, like she was offering him something.
"You don't trust me. You never have," she calmly spoke to Jaden. "But in times of need you turn to me as your kind always does, but I am not an all-powerful being who can magically make your worries go away. I can not watch over all of you at once and keep everyone safe. I am just a spirit like everyone else. One of the oldest, yes, but still just a spirit."
"Do you even care about them?" I asked on behalf of my mate.
"Am I not here?" she asked, still keeping her eyes on Jaden. "Not as your goddess, but as an ally. As a friend. That is all I can offer."
Jaden didn't even blink, but I could feel his spirits settling down again. We both felt silly for questioning her since she indeed was there with us. Still, it was safe to say Jaden lost a bit of his faith. Even I was affected by it. I believed we had an actual god watching over us, but it turned out to be just a spirit who hadn't been watching us at all... She just happened to stumble upon our case because of our bond...
I still smiled when Jaden stepped in front of her, touching her hand with his nose and wagging his tail a bit. Selene smiled at him brightly, and petted him for a moment before she stood up again.
"Now – let's go greet the actual all-powerful being who can make our worries go away."
I nearly choked at her words. Even Jaden froze. Did she mean...?
"Not the God," Selene chuckled and continued walking. "But someone just as good."
I felt ridiculously nervous while following her. None of us spoke in a good moment as we made our way through the forest, but then my dad stepped right next to me.
"You guys are in for a treat – even I haven't met her yet," he said quietly.
"That's not helping at all," I muttered my reply.
"No, I suppose not," he chuckled. "Son..."
I couldn't stop myself from smiling a little when he called me son. It was the first time. I stopped when I felt his hand on my arm and turned to look at him.
"I just..." he muttered, but it was clearly difficult for him to continue speaking. Then, he just hugged me. "I missed out on so much... But from now on, I'll stay awake. I'll be watching over you – I promise."
I nodded against his shoulder, trying not to start crying, feeling grateful that I was still able to be hugged by my father. He was not completely lost, only in a different realm.
"I'm sorry..." he muttered and let go of me. "We should hurry – the world is in danger..."
"We can talk after we save it," I said, trying to sound confident, and he laughed shortly.
"That's my son," he smiled.
Jaden let out a whine and we both turned to look at him. He was staring at my dad with his ear up, wagging his tail.
"Jaden is my mate," I told Dad. "Is that okay with you?"
"My best friend's son? I'm a bit surprised but no, I have nothing against it," Dad said and leaned closer to Jaden. "But I will haunt you for the rest of your life if you screw up."
I chuckled at his words, but then Selene cleared her throat and we hurried after her.
"We're almost there," Selene whispered, and right on cue, the wind in the trees that was almost nonexistent just now escalated into a small storm.
It was then that I realized the air around me was perfect. Like, unbelievably perfect. We were in a jungle, but the climate was not what I expected it to be. The temperature and the humidness and everything else about it was just... perfect. Almost like there wasn't air at all. Was there air at all in the spirit realm? If there was, I could hardly notice it. Even the storm didn't move anything around me. I couldn't feel the wind on my face, even though it was all around us.
"There is so much I still need to learn..." I muttered out loud, watching the trees.
'Oliver Attwood...'
I sprung around when I thought I heard someone whisper my name. There was no one there. Jaden pressed himself against my side and his fur was standing up again, so I knew I wasn't going mad. He had heard it too.
"They're expecting us," Selene said and gestured at us to follow her.
'I have been watching you... Oliver...'
"Yeah...?" I said slowly, trying to see the person talking to me. I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman who was talking to me. Or a freaking lizard – I had no idea anymore.
'I have seen your path... I have felt your steps...'
Jaden was so close to freaking out, but he did his best to keep his cool as we walked. It was pretty difficult for me to move forward since he was still keeping himself pressed against my leg.
'I have witnessed your struggles... And I have seen your heart...'
"I take it that you like what you've seen in my heart?" I asked out loud, earning a chuckle from my father.
'Yes... And no... But that is the heart of a human... Unpredictable at best...'
"Is that important?" I asked as we walked around a big, fallen log and were suddenly standing at the edge of the jungle. There was a mountain in front of us, a desert on our left, and an ocean on our right, and everything about the place seemed so perfect it was unnatural.
'Only time will tell...' the voice said.
"Who are you?" I asked.
'My name is the wind in the trees... the grumble of the earthquake... the waves hitting the shore... and the fuming of the fire... I have a thousand names but only a few can be spoken in any human tongue...'
A spirit appeared in front of me. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but they were short, their hair was long, almost touching the ground, their completely white figure was slender and delicate, their eyes were big and other features so sharp it couldn't be a spirit of a human, or anything else I had ever seen.
'I am Gaea,' they said without moving their mouth. 'But you know me as Earth.'
"E-Earth?" I breathed out. "As in...?" I pointed at the ground.
'Your planet,' they nodded. 'And today is the day when my death begins.'
"What?" I asked in shock. "How?"
'I have watched Anthony Attwood ever since he tried to break into our realm for the first time. I know what he wants. He cannot have it. He cannot control it. His greed for power will start an unstoppable avalanche that is my downfall,' they spoke hastily with a worried tone. 'You refused to take the portal and run, so you have doomed me and everyone else to die.'
"To be honest, she didn't mention that the whole freaking planet would die," I noted in frustration, pointing at Selene. "Besides, you're asking me to abandon everyone I hold dear and live with that, as a traitor, for the rest of my life."
'The life of a dozen, or the lives of all... Those were your options,' Gaea said calmly.
"Why not give the portal to someone else then if it's that important?" I asked without caring about the harshness of my voice. "Let me die with the people I love since I clearly am not thinking about the greater good."
Gaea let out a deep breath, and for a second, the wind blew past us harder. 'Running away wouldn't be enough in the long run. His army is growing bigger by the day and the shadow infestation is spreading like wildfire.'
"Then could you stop making me feel like an asshole?" I snorted.
'I needed to see the deepest part of your heart,' Gaea said. 'The place that is hidden until you are faced with a situation where you have no choice but to reveal your true self.'
"So did I pass?" I asked. They nodded. "And what does it mean exactly?"
They smiled, and the world around us changed again. It changed big time.
I stared at the pool of lava that was right in front of me. It was otherwise dark around us except for the glow of the smoldering hot lava – except it wasn't hot at all. The air was still at the perfect temperature. I looked around and realized we were deep underground or at least in a cave. Or a volcano.
"Where are we?" I asked as Jaden stepped right next to me again.
"Far away from home..." Dad muttered, looking around with the same bewildered expression I knew I had on my face.
'Come,' Gaea spoke, and we followed them to the edge of the lava pool. It was so weird to stand right beside it. My brain kept insisting it had to be extremely hot where we were, but I couldn't feel it. I kind of wanted to touch the lava to see if it would burn my hand off.
'Shadow Walkers have one thing in common,' Gaea said, moving their hand over the lava. 'They want power. They can not get enough of it. Their desire to be the strongest person in the world is consuming them, and they stop at nothing to get their ultimate price.'
Gaea moved their hand upwards like they were pulling something from the lava. I turned to stare at the hot bubbles, waiting to see why we were here.
'But it will consume them. They think they are strong enough to handle it. Strong enough to command it. Foolish mortals...'
A small box appeared from the lava and Gaea took it, stopping to stare at it for the longest time.
"What is it?" I asked, shivering all of a sudden. There was something in that box, all right. Something big. Something massive.
Gaea opened the lid, and the thing inside was...
"Echo?" I frowned when I saw the small ball of white and black light. It wasn't anything I had ever seen before, but I knew it was an Echo.
'It is the Echo of –"
"Oliver!"
I turned around just in time to see Cedric of all people appearing behind me. He looked almost panicky when he grabbed me by my shoulders.
"Where were you?! We were worried sick!" It was at that moment when he spotted Selene. And then Gaea. "Shit, Oliver..." he breathed out. "You're having a tea party with the freaking Mother Earth?"
"I... Guess?" I stammered, but Cedric seemed to forget all about me at that moment. He stared at the Echo.
"Holy shit," he squeaked timidly with a high-pitched voice.
'Calm down, little one,' Gaea nearly chuckled.
"Calm down?" Cedric repeated. "Okay – I'll just do that. Sure," he spoke, still far from calm.
"I'm sorry we scared you – Jaden and I are fine," I told Cedric, who turned to look at me with such wide eyes I was afraid they would fall off.
"You're fine? Okay. Sure, we're totally fine," he said, nodding slowly before he turned to point at the box. "That's the Echo of fucking Hades but yes, we're totally fine," he spoke, articulating clearly like I was the one who had lost his mind.
"The Echo of... Hades?" I repeated.
'The King of Souls,' Gaea said with a respectful tone. 'The little ones dislike his presence.'
"That's a slight understatement," Cedric noted. "Taken the fact that he could kill spirits and shadows with a snap of his fingers, and he was a moody son of a bitch."
"That Echo is what the Shadow Walkers are after," Selene said gloomily. "Whoever holds it gains Hades' powers."
'But they can't control it,' Gaea spoke. 'This Echo bows to no one. Only the strongest may have a chance to use it without turning mad.'
"If it's let loose outside the spirit realm, chaos will ensue. It is half spirit, half shadow, and the latter loves destruction," Dad said. "Anthony spoke about it lovingly."
"What are we going to do about it?" I asked with a whisper.
'It can not stay here,' Gaea said. 'You must take it.'
"So... Instead of me running with the portal, I'll be running with the Echo?" I asked with a frown. "That's not any better!"
'No,' Gaea said, walking to me. 'You must take it and stop them.'
"When you say, 'take it', you mean...?" I trailed off, trying to remember how to breathe.
'Take Hades' power, or we stand no chance against them,' Gaea said, almost pleading.
"But I can't control it!" I told them.
'That is the risk we have to take. You are our best bet – you proved it by refusing to leave your loved ones to die alone. Your love is the power that might help to contain the corruption of the shadow,' Gaea spoke swiftly.
"I'm not strong enough..." I said, shaking my head when Gaea tried to give the box to me.
'I am sorry that your path took you here. I am sorry that I have nothing else to give you. I am sorry that it has to be you,' Gaea spoke almost silently and gave me a smile when I looked at them. 'It is a gift, and it's a curse, and it is the best thing we have. If you don't take it, I die. If you take it, I may still die, but at least we tried.'
"That's not helping at all," I told them.
'I have seen your heart. Even now the Echo is not getting your attention. And you won't be alone,' Gaea said and nodded to Selene.
"All you have to do is blast those sons of bitches out of your lands," the Moon Goddess said. "With a little help, of course."
'Will you take it?' Gaea asked.
I turned to look at Jaden, who looked up at me. If it was the only choice we had...
"I'll take it," I breathed out.
"Why did I ever agree to be your guardian...?" Cedric sighed.
"Because apparently, we're going to kick some ass," I smirked at him, even though I was scared to death.
"Oh, one more thing before we unleash the King," Selene said, kneeling down in front of Jaden. "I have something for you – something that will ruin their day for good."
"Shit, Oliver..." Cedric shook his head.
"I know right..." I muttered.
What else could I do? If I was the only one who could at least try saving the people I cared about, Jaden's pack, the people in the town... and the entire world...
What else could I do?